First on FOX: Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Friday, warning of the top federal law enforcement agency’s actions in the wake of the shocking New Year’s Day terrorist attack in New Orleans. asked for answers regarding “radical” DEI practices.
“As the facts surrounding this unconscionable attack continue to emerge, what we do know is deeply disturbing. The suspects were in possession of weapons, improvised explosive devices, and ISIS flags. This horrifying incident was a threat to the American mainland. “This is a gross act of terrorism, and the people of our country have a right to know whether federal law enforcement is adequately able to prevent and respond to such incidents,” Blackburn said Friday, exclusively on Fox News Digital. I wrote this in a letter to Mr. Ray, which I obtained.
“To that end, I am deeply concerned that under your leadership, the Department has prioritized diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts over its core mission of protecting the American people. “The Tennessee senator continued.
Just after 3 a.m. on New Year’s Day, chaos erupted on New Orleans’ famous Bourbon Street as a truck drove through a crowd of revelers celebrating the holiday. At least 14 people were killed and 30 injured.
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Christopher Wray testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on his nomination to head the Federal Bureau of Investigation at the Dirksen Senate Office Building at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on July 12, 2017. (Photo by Mandel NGAN/AFP) Mandel NGAN /AFP (via Getty Images) (Getty Images)
The suspect, Shamsud Din Jabbar, a twice-divorced Army veteran from Texas, was armed with a Glock and a .308 rifle during the attack. He died after firing at police.
After the attack unfolded on Wednesday morning, Blackburn took to social media to call for the confirmation of President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for FBI director, Kash Patel, and to focus more on DEI practices. He reprimanded the current leadership of the department. Rather than “fighting criminals and terrorists.”
New Orleans police and federal agents are investigating a suspected terrorist attack that occurred on New Year’s Day, Wednesday, January 1, 2025, on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. (Chris Granger/New Orleans Legal Advocacy Bureau, via AP)
“The FBI’s law enforcement and intelligence capabilities are diminished as the FBI no longer recruits the ‘best and brightest’ candidates,” Blackburn wrote in a letter to Wray on Friday. He cited a recent report from a group of retired FBI agents that said. In addition to hiring a Chief Diversity Officer at the FBI in 2021, evidence of the FBI’s increased focus is that the New Orleans Field Office will host a Diversity Agent Recruiting Event in July. About DEI.
“Just recently, in a notable example of tone-deafness, the New Orleans FBI field office thought it was important to brag to X about the number of bracelets their agents had collected. Your decision to prioritize everything else put the American people at risk, and the terrorist attacks of January 1 were an inevitable outcome,” Blackburn wrote in the letter.
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“Simply put, your focus on the FBI’s woke DEI efforts is putting our national security and the lives of all Americans at risk. “We feel increasingly unsafe because of events like Sunday’s terrorist attacks, and the FBI’s prioritization of diversity over competency shows that.” Fortunately, their concerns are being addressed. There is a strong case for this, and President Trump will soon restore law and order to our country,” Blackburn continued.
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The FBI took the lead on the case Wednesday, putting it directly at odds with Trump supporters and voters, including by being the first to tell the public that the attack was not terrorism.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray speaks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, July 12, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“We will be taking over the lead of this case. This is not a terrorist incident,” Alecia Duncan, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said at a news conference Wednesday morning.
However, at the same press conference, the Democratic mayor of New Orleans refuted Mr. Duncan’s comments and did not provide any details about the city’s terrorist attacks.
Asked about Duncan’s comments, the FBI on Thursday directed Fox News Digital to three press releases issued the day before detailing that the attack was being investigated as a terrorist incident. . The press release also detailed that an ISIS flag was found in the suspect’s truck.
“This morning, an individual drove his car into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing numerous people and injuring dozens more. The subject has since worked with local law enforcement and is now deceased. “The FBI has alerted law enforcement agencies and we are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism,” the FBI said in one of three statements provided to FOX Digital. I mentioned it in
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In his letter to Wray, Blackburn followed up with five questions about the FBI’s DEI hiring practices. How DEI efforts are funded and whether FBI funds have been reallocated to such efforts. We also revealed how many people were hired at our New Orleans field office’s diversity agent hiring event in July.
Soldiers walk down Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Thursday, January 2, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
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“Has the Bureau recently terminated the employment of FBI agents who support the counterterrorism and intelligence division of the FBI’s National Security Division?” Mr. Blackburn asked in his final question. “In an online post about the July 17 incident, Lionel Martil, FBI Special Agent in Charge of New Orleans, reportedly said, “Diversity in our workforce is the most valuable resource we have.” . . . Do you agree with the statement “Keeping Americans Safe”?
On January 1, 2025, law enforcement officers from multiple agencies were on the scene on Bourbon Street after someone allegedly drove a car into a crowd in New Orleans, Louisiana, killing at least 10 people early on New Year’s Day. There is. Dozens more people were injured when a suspect in a rented pickup truck allegedly bypassed a barricade and drove through a crowd of people celebrating the New Year on Bourbon Street. The suspect then got out of his car and fired at the officers, before being killed by police. (Michael DeMocker/Getty Images)
Following Trump’s nomination of Kash Patel to the FBI, Wray announced that he would resign from the FBI at the end of President Biden’s term this month. Wray was first nominated by the first Trump administration and was in the midst of a 10-year term that does not end until 2027.
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“Until the next presidential nominee to lead the FBI is confirmed, the American people have a right to know the extent to which your radical DEI policies undermine national security,” Blackburn wrote to Wray. and asked Jean to answer the questions. 10.
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